Dark Phoenix (Earth-616)
Real Name: The Phoenix Force Nicknames: None Former Aliases: Phoenix (Phoenix Force)Uncanny X-Men 101-132, Black Queen of the Hellfire ClubUncanny X-Men 132-134, Jean GreyPhoenix (Phoenix Force) took the name "Jean Grey" in Uncanny X-Men 101 and maintained that impersonation throughout the Dark Phoenix Saga, although neither Phoenix nor Dark Phoenix was actually Jean. Status Occupation: Adventurer Legal Status: Genetic copy of a citizen of the United States, formerly under sentence of death from Shi'ar Empire Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Former member of the X-Men, former member of the Hellfire Club Base of Operations: Previously Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York; Mutant Research Center, Muir Island, Scotland; and Hellfire Club, New York City, New York Origin Place of Birth: Unknown Place of Death: Blue Area of the Moon Known Relatives: Jean Grey (genetic template) First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #132 Final Appearance: Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #137 History Comic-book readers today know the Phoenix as a psionic cosmic entity linked to Jean Grey. However, the original character, as far as anyone knew, was Jean, a mutant with psionic powers. Returning from a mission in space with the New X-Men, Jean volunteered to pilot a shuttle through a solar flare while the others remained in a shielded area. Instead of killing her, the radiation allowed her to reach her ultimate potential as a telepath and telekinetic. In that moment, Jean became a being of pure thought. Upon crashing to Earth, she reformed herself with the costume, identity, and power of the Phoenix. Her power levels grew, slowly at first, then exponentially. Shortly after her transformation, she repaired the M'Kraan Crystal and saved the entire universe. She began to enjoy using her new and vastly improved powers, but as always, power corrupts. The Phoenix entity became too strong for the merely human Jean to control, but the other X-Men had no way to know what was happening and little chance of preventing a tragedy. Professor X helped Jean establish "psychic circuit breakers" in her mind, but they became less and less effective. She was thus an easy target for the illusionist Mastermind, who needed a trophy to join the Inner Circle of the prestigious (and infamous) Hellfire Club. With the help of a psionic device created by the club's White Queen, Emma Frost, Mastermind made Jean believe that she was his 18th-century lover Lady Grey. Jean joined the club as their Black Queen, which would allow her to relish the extremes of human emotion and sensuality. When the X-Men came to her rescue, Jean's true love, Cyclops, faced Mastermind in a psychic duel and was defeated. His "death" broke Mastermind's hold over Jean's psyche--as well as any control Jean had had over the Phoenix. It brushed aside the X-Men and departed for the heavens. To sate its hunger, the (now Dark) Phoenix flew to a distant galaxy and devoured the star of the D'Bari system. The resulting nova killed billions of innocent people. A Shi'ar vessel attacked it and managed to alert the Shi'ar Empress Lilandra before they were destroyed. The empress called a council of her intergalactic counterparts, including the Kree and Skrull empires. They concluded that, for the rest of the universe to live, Dark Phoenix must die. Meanwhile, the Beast had found a way to neutralize Phoenix's power temporarily. When it returned to Earth, the X-Men held it at bay while Professor X rebuilt the circuit breakers in Jean's mind. At that moment the Shi'ar arrived and teleported everyone aboard their flagship. Lilandra announced that Phoenix, and thus Jean Grey, would have to die. Jean recieved a Kree weapon so that she could "do the right thing." Professor X, unwilling to give up on one of his pupils, but romantically involved with Lilandra, challenged her to Arin'n Haelar, a Shi'ar duel of honor that cannot be refused. Professor X named the X-Men as his champions in the duel, Lilandra her Imperial Guard. The duel took place the next day in the Blue Area of the Moon. The Imperial Guard made short work of the X-Men, leaving Cyclops and Phoenix to make a final stand. A stray bolt hit Cyclops. Jean's control broke, and she became the Dark Phoenix again. Lilandra ordered Plan Omega, which would destroy the whole solar system in hopes of eliminating Dark Phoenix as well. Professor X ordered the X-Men to subdue Jean so that Plan Omega would not be necessary, and they managed to subdue the Phoenix for a brief time. In this moment of lucidity, Jean took Cyclops to a back alley, where she bade him an emotional farewell and turned the Kree weapon on herself. The story ends with Uatu the Watcher's comment: "Jean Grey could have lived to become a god, but it was more important to her that she died as a human." Characteristics Height: 5' 6" Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg) Eyes: Green Hair: Red Unusual Features: None Powers Known Powers: Like Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix used telepathy and telekinesis, but at a much higher level. She was able to rearrange the molecular structure of matter and fly at supersonic speeds. Using the Phoenix Force, she could travel through hyperspace and destroy Shi'ar battlecruisers with little effort. Known Abilities: Because Phoenix was linked to Jean's psyche, she maintained a psychic link with Cyclops. Strength Level: As Jean Grey, the Phoenix possessed the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engaged in moderate regular exercise. Using her cosmic powers and telekinesis, Phoenix could lift an unknown amount, probably in the range of thousands of tons. Miscellaneous Equipment: None known Transportation: Flight under her own power, intergalactic flight through hyperspace, X-Men Stratojet, Shi'ar stargates Weapons: None known Appearances in Other Media In the movie X-Men: The Last Stand, Jean appears as the Dark Phoenix. When using her Phoenix powers, Jean's appearance changes considerably: her skin darkens to an almost dead appearance and her eyes turn black. At one point Callisto tells Magneto that Jean is a "Class 5" mutant with unlimited potential and that Jean is even more powerful than him. As a child, Jean developed a split personality she called "Phoenix." Fearing that Jean could not control her vast powers, Xavier put psychic blocks around her subconscious mind to keep Jean's immense powers at bay. Phoenix emerges from the lake where Jean had died and apparently kills Scott Summers. She joins Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants after destroying Professor X at her childhood home. During an attack on a pharmaceutical company, Phoenix destroys much of Alcatraz Island and kills mutants and humans alike. Wolverine gets Jean to resurface, and since she can't control Phoenix, she pleads with him to kill her rather than let her harm more people. He tells her he loves her and stabs her with his claws. The ending scenes show her buried alongside Cyclops on the Institute's grounds. Notes * The Dark Phoenix story raised the standards for graphic storytelling. Claremont's use of foreshadowing, motivation, and pathos took comics to a new level and made the X-Men franchise one of the most popular titles ever. Related Articles *Jean Grey *Phoenix (Phoenix Force) *White Phoenix *Cyclops (Scott Summers) *Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) *Shi'ar See Also * Character Gallery: * Fan-Art Gallery: * Appearances of * Quotations by External Links * References *Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #9 *Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10 ---- Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Bronze Age Category:Single Characters Category:Secret Identity Category:Green Eyes Category:Red Hair Category:X-Men members Category:Hellfire Club members Category:Cosmic Beings